to put your money where your mouth is
3
6.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
demostrar con acciones
- We've been talking about it for years, but I think my election says to the country that now they can put their money where their mouth is.
- willing to put your money where your mouth is
You said to me, would you put your money where your mouth is?
- You said to me, would you put your money where your mouth is?
- So if you are putting your money where your mouth is, we are literally going to the dogs when it comes to spending on energy innovation.
Examples
-
Before you criticize the plan, you should put your money where your mouth is and invest in it yourself.
-
If preservationists want to save structures, get a group together, put your money where your mouth is, and renovate them.
Blog text (13) -
Then we will see if they will actually put their money where their mouth is.
Blog text (16) -
The question is, who was willing to put their money where their mouth was?
Blog text (3) -
Now put your money where your mouth is!
Blog text (24) -
We'll see if his party puts their money where their mouth is.
Blog text (12) -
And the program helps firms put their money where their mouth is on the issue of diversity.
Academic text (2009) -
First, I assume that better management practices require fund managers to put their money where their mouth is.
Blog text (15) -
I'd like the Democrats to challenge them to put their money where their mouth is.
Blog text (14) -
Isn't it time for them to put their money where their mouth is?
Blog text (21)
Synonyms
8
6.5
To support your words by giving money or doing work
3
6.3
To publicly show support, often when doing so is risky
1
6.2
To show which companies or products you support by choosing where you spend money
Antonyms
- Informal
13
7.4
To speak confidently about doing something without actually doing it
How Committed
- Informal
3
6.0
715
3.5
354
3.0
∞
1.0
∞
5.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
put + your + money + where + your + mouth + be
The phrase uses a clear metaphorical mapping (mouth = words; money = resources) so the idea of backing words with resources can be inferred from the parts, but the specific pragmatic meaning ‘show support by acting, not just talking’ is not strictly compositional and relies on idiomatic extension. This makes it partially predictable but still requires some cultural/pragmatic knowledge, so a B1 learner who merely knows the words may not fully derive the intended sense.
Etymology
Put your money where your mouth is comes from betting and challenges: if someone talked proudly, people would tell them to put money where their mouth was — to make a bet and 'prove' they meant it. So the phrase now means 'show by your actions and not just your words'.